Winnen and the Wiesensee

Winnen and the Wiesensee

Winnen includes the southern part of the Wiesensee, which covers around 80 hectares. From the village, you can reach the lake on foot in just a few minutes. The surrounding area offers lakeside scenery, views towards the Taunus, and mostly paved hiking trails. If you choose a place to stay based on the landscape and opportunities to get out and about, the lake and trails are two concrete points of reference.

Hiking and Leisure at the Wiesensee

In the Wiesensee area, you can compare two hikes with different lengths and routes. The marked “Kleiner Wäller Wiesensee” circular trail is 6.5 kilometres long. There is also a permanent hiking route of around 11 kilometres connecting the Secker Weiher with the Wiesensee. One hike loops back to its starting point; the longer route links two named bodies of water. You can therefore start by comparing the distances and route types.

Leisure activities in the Wiesensee area include swimming, sailing, windsurfing, and fishing. Golf is also available, with an 18-hole course and a 9-hole short course. When planning water-based activities, it is important to check the lake’s current status: the lake has currently been drained for repairs. Before travelling, check whether the activities you have planned are possible.

The Westerwald as a Regional Setting

Within the wider Westerwald travel region, Stöffel-Park focuses on industrial heritage, geological history, and nature. The site of a former basalt quarry covers around 140 hectares. At the TERTIÄRUM, a fossil exhibition includes the famous “Stöffel Mouse”; the fossils document around 25 million years of Earth’s history. The park and exhibition bring landscape and geological history together under one theme. Also in the wider Westerwald travel region, the Westerwald Ceramic Museum presents the history of working with clay; the objects on display usually originated in a Westerwald clay pit.

For longer hikes in the Westerwald, there are several routes with clearly distinct distance profiles to choose from. The WesterwaldSteig is a 235-kilometre long-distance hiking trail through the Westerwald, with 16 stages. Check the current route planner before setting out. The Druidensteig runs for 94 kilometres over seven day stages through seven river valleys and features more than 30 geo-information points. As the interpretive features may change, it is advisable to check the current route information when planning your trip.

Distinctive landforms also shape the regional setting: at 657 metres, the Fuchskaute is the highest elevation in the Westerwald. The Holzbach Gorge is a breakthrough valley about one kilometre long, with basalt walls up to 30 metres high. These two examples represent different types of scenery—a high vantage point and a gorge with steep rock walls.

Discover more destinations: Dernbach, Hillscheid, Wahlrod, Dehlingen, Gehlert, Gackenbach, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Kundert.

For the main travel overview: Westerwald.